Know how to protect yourself from getting sick? Take the quiz

Delivering crackers to your roommate who has been throwing up? Sitting in a lecture hall with a coughing classmate? Wondering why you’re under pressure to get a flu shot? College living offers frequent reminders that sometimes it’s not cool to go viral.

Given the intensity and pace of a school semester, getting sick can leave its mark—and not a good one. In a 2017 survey of more than 26,000 undergraduates, 15 percent said that having a cold, flu, or sore throat in the last 12 months had hurt them academically (e.g., a lower grade for an exam or course, according to the National College Health Assessment). That’s in addition to the serious health complications that can sometimes arise from commonplace illnesses, even in otherwise healthy people.

Most of us think we know how to avoid common infections, or at least minimize our chances of catching that cold or stomach bug. Even so, at Student Health 101, we learned a few things developing this quiz, and we figure you’ll learn a few things taking it.

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I READ THE ARTICLE & LEARNED FROM IT

What was the most interesting thing you read in this article?

If you could change one thing about , what would it be?

HAVE YOU SEEN AT LEAST ONE THING IN THIS ISSUE THAT...

..you will apply to everyday life? YesNo

..caused you to get involved, ask for help, utilize campus resources, or help a friend? YesNo

Lucy Berrington is a health writer, editor, and communications manager. Her work has been published in numerous publications in the US and UK. She has an MS in health communication from Tufts University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, and a BA from the University of Oxford, UK.